Fewer
Americans reported having employer-based health insurance in 2012 than did in
2008, 2009, and 2010, but at 44.5% it is unchanged from 2011, says a new Gallup poll. At the same
time, more Americans continue to report having a government-based health
plan—Medicare, Medicaid, or military or veterans' benefits—with the 25.6% who
did so in 2012 up from 23.4% in 2008.

The percentage of Americans (11.9%) who say they get their coverage through
"something else," which could mean they buy it for themselves, has
been relatively unchanged over the years. While more Americans remain uninsured
than in the past, the percentage who are uninsured decreased slightly in 2012
(16.9%), after having risen each year previously going back to 2009.

High unemployment is partly to blame for the decrease in employer-based
health insurance from 2008-2010. The decline also may caused by fewer employers
offering insurance or by employees opting to not take their employers' plan due
to rising health insurance costs for employees, reports Gallup.

The decline in employer-based coverage from earlier years is apparent for
workers employed full time for an employer or for themselves. However, the
percentage of part-time workers who have employer-based insurance rose in 2012.
This group leans toward younger workers, who are likely to be insured since enactment
of the health care law provision allowing those up to age 26 to stay on their
parents' plans.